Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Ben Abraham recently began a fantastic experiment playing Far Cry 2with (user-imposed) permanent death.The constraints are simple- play on Normal difficulty and stop when you die. No second chances, we're playing for keeps. Michel jumped and, as I'd been looking for a reason to revisit FC2 again anyway, I'm getting aboard the train too. Plus, this feeds into a few posts I'm going to be doing in the near future quite well.

Truth be told, I'm not too optimistic for Andre Hyppolite. I barely made it to the hotel's entrance before a rocket reduced me to unconsciousness. I fear this a very dark harbinger for Andre's end.

Ben and Michel covered the introduction/tutorial well, so I'll be brief. But I have to note that the game feels incredibly tense. Every staccato burst of gunfire is horrifying. My assault on the first safehouse, guarded by only two militiamen, was nervewracking (possibly because a lucky shotgun blast killed me there at my first time playing). It was also a little surreal killing the first militiaman. I hadn't killed anyone in Pala. Now I'd killed a man, in cold blood (he didn't even get a chance to draw), simply for guarding a hut. All because a man named Carbonell told me to do it. For most games, this is completely de rigueur. But honestly, it's pretty disturbing if you stop and think about it.

At the lumber camp, it's quite apparent scouting will be far more important now. Previously playing, nearly all my scouting was through a rifle scope, but I think a well-planned approach is going to become far more important this time.

And, of course, whom do I rescue but the odious Paul Ferenc. That smirk permanently etched upon his face is similarly carved into my mind. Or, more appropriately, the casual disregard for suffering it contains. Paul's not in love with conflict per se, he simply doesn't care in the least about who gets hurt, as long as it isn't him. If he can get some money or some laughs, all the better. At least the bloodthirsty warlords act with intent.

I love this - Far Cry 2 is one of the first games to really push some meaning into the senseless violence of videogaming, and this challenge captures the maddening spirit of what the game tried to show us.

I fully suspect that, by voluntarily accepting your arbitrary death sentence, you're giving away the biggest barrier to total immersion in Far Cry 2. So please, promise me you guys won't be descending into your own madness by the end, and questioning whether you are any better than the people you've killed!